WO1998034513A1

WO1998034513A1 - A toothbrush

Info

Publication number: WO1998034513A1
Application number: PCT/AU1998/000069
Authority: WO
Inventors: Arthur William Bullman
Original assignee: Arthur William Bullman
Priority date: 1997-02-05
Filing date: 1998-02-05
Publication date: 1998-08-13
Also published as: AUPO495797A0

Abstract

A toothbrush (10) includes a handle (12) and bristle-bearing head (14). The head (14) is mounted for limited pivoting movement relative to the handle (12). Detents are provided to retain the head at the extremities of its pivoting. The head (14) and handle (12) lie in the same plane to minimise the bulk of the toothbrush. The pivoting head facilitates correct brushing of the teeth.

Description

"A TOOTHBRUSH"

TECHNICAL FIELD

This invention relates to toothbrushes.

BACKGROUND ART

The effective cleaning of teeth has long been recognised as a major factor in prolonging the life of teeth.

Problems exist in cleaning between the teeth, particularly between teeth located at the rear of the mouth. This is partly because effective cleaning between the teeth requires a brushing action which is up and down the tooth, whilst the natural movement of a conventional toothbrush is in a direction generally parallel to the longitudinal extent of the handle and the shape of the mouth dictates that the handle is inserted into the mouth in a direction which is generally orthogonal to the desired direction of brushing.

Numerous attempts have been made to devise toothbrushes which enable better cleaning between the teeth by the provision of inclined heads and various bristle constructions. More recently, electric toothbrushes have largely overcome this problem by not requiring the user to impart a brμshing motion at all.

The present invention utilises a bristle-bearing head which is pivotable with respect to the handle of the toothbrush. Toothbrushes having pivoting heads are known from US Patents 4,333,199, 5,072,481, 5,228,166, 4,575,894, and International Patent Applications PCT/US94/12696 and PCT/EP94/02070.

DISCLOSURE OF INVENTION

This invention in one aspect resides in a toothbrush including : - an elongate handle; a head pivotably mounted relative to the elongate handle about an axis which is substantially orthogonal to the elongate handle, the head including an array of bristles which extend in a direction which is substantially parallel to the pivoting axis; characterised in that the head is mounted for limited rotation relative to the elongate handle between a first position for brushing the left hand side of the teeth and a second position for brushing the right hand side of the teeth.

Preferably, a neutral position for brushing the front teeth is disposed intermediate the first and second positions . Preferably, retaining means are provided to retain the head at the first and second positions. The retaining means may involve detents, frictional engagement or any other means. Retaining means may also be provided to retain the head at the intermediate neutral position.

Preferably, the elongate handle and pivotably mounted head lie in substantially the same plane with the axis of pivoting being substantially orthogonal to said plane . In one embodiment the head may be removable from the handle so as to be replacable .

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

In order that this invention may be more easily understood and put into practical effect, reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings which illustrate preferred embodiments of the invention, wherein: -

FIGS 1 to 4 are views of one embodiment of a toothbrush;

FIGS 5 to 8 are views of a second embodiment of a toothbrush;

FIGS 9 and 10 are longitudinal and transverse cross- section views of the head, respectively.

BEST MODE

With reference firstly to FIGS 1 to 4 , there is illustrated a toothbrush 10 having an elongate handle 12 and a pivotably mounted head 14.

The pivotably mounted head 14 includes an array of bristles in the normal manner. The head 14 lies in substantially the same plane as the handle 12 as can be best seen in FIG 1 and is mounted for limited pivoting movement between first and second positions about an axis which is orthogonal to the plane of the handle and head as can be seen from FIGS 2 and 3. With reference to FIGS 2 and 4, the head 14 is shown in the first position in which it is adapted to brush the left hand side of the teeth. The head is shown in its second position in FIG 3 and in the neutral intermediate position in FIG 1. Stops or abutments are provided to prevent rotation beyond the first and second positions.

In the illustrated embodiment, the pivoting is facilitated by a pin 16, although other known pivotal mounting arrangements such as a resilient "snap" mounting or other known means could be used. As can be seen from FIGS 2 and 3, the head 14 is mounted for limited pivoting relative to the handle 12. Furthermore, retaining means are provided so as to releasably retain the head at the limits of its pivotal range of motion as shown in FIGS 2 and 3. In the illustrated embodiment, the retaining means takes the form of a radial protrusion on the head 14 and a corresponding recess on the handle 12, although the retaining means could take any form and may simply involve frictional engagment between the handle and head. The handle 12 and head 14 are made of a resilient plastics material and the plastics material must elastically deform during pivoting of the head between its preferred first, neutral and second positions. Referring now to FIG 4, it can be seen that, in use, the toothbrush head is pivoted to one of the first and second positions (depending on whether it is desired to brush the left or right teeth) and inserted into the mouth.

As previously discussed, the natural action of brushing with known toothbrushes is substantially parallel to the extent of the toothbrush handle. With the present invention it has been discovered that the user is encouraged to brush in a direction which is more up and down than is the case with known toothbrushes. This more up and down action, together with the inclined head which encourages this action, results in superior cleaning. The head is pivoted to the neutral intermediate position for cleaning the front teeth.

Referring now to FIGS 5 to 8, there is shown a second embodiment in which similar numerals have been used to denote similar features. The difference between the first and second embodiment is simply that the array of bristles has been rotated through 90 degrees so that, in the neutral position shown in FIG 5, the major axis of the array of bristles is parallel to the handle 12 (it will be recalled that in FIGS 1 to 4, the major axis of the array of bristles was orthogonal to the handle 12) .

Again, with reference to FIG 8, it can be seen that, in use, the head is pivoted to the first position and inserted into the mouth in the normal manner (if the toothbrush was to be used on the teeth on the right hand side of the mouth then the head would be pivoted to the opposite limit or second position) . As with the first embodiment, the bristles are presented to the teeth in a manner in which the user is encouraged to brush in an up and down direction. As illustrated in FIG 9, the length of bristles in the array is preferably varied along the major axis of the array to provide a degree of conformity with the profile of the teeth. With reference to FIG 10, the length of the bristles in the array may also be varied along the minor axis to protect the gums.

It has been found that a particular advantage of the toothbrush according to this invention is that the array of bristles is naturally moved in a more correct direction to clean the gaps between the teeth. The pivotal mounting of the head of the toothbrush allows the head of the toothbrush to move in a direction more closely parallel to the gaps between the teeth. As a consequence, the toothbrush according to the present invention has been found to more effectively remove plaque at the extremities of the teeth adjacent the gums and improve the health of the gums.

It will be apparent that the toothbrush according to this inyention also offers significant advantages for people with diseases of the joints, such as arthritis sufferers, because a wrist action is not required in order to generate a motion of the bristles generally parallel to the gaps between the teeth. It will of course be realised that whilst the above has been given by way of an illustrative example of this invention, all such and other modifications and variations hereto, as would be apparent to persons skilled in the art, are deemed to fall within the broad scope and ambit of this invention as is herein set forth.

Claims

THE CLAIMS DEFINING THE INVENTION ARE AS FOLLOWS : -

1. A toothbrush including: - an elongate handle; a head pivotably mounted relative to the elongate handle about an axis which is substantially orthogonal to the elongate handle, the head including an array of bristles which extend in a direction which is substantially parallel to the pivoting axis; characterised in that the head is mounted for limited rotation relative to the elongate handle between a first position for brushing the left hand side of the teeth and a second position for brushing the right hand side of ,the teeth.

2. A toothbrush as claimed in claim 1, whererin retaining means are provided to retain the head at the first and second positions.

3. A toothbrush as claimed in claim 1, wherein a neutral position for brushing the front teeth is disposed intermediate the first and second positions.

4. A toothbrush as claimed in claim 3, wherein retaining means are provided to retain the head at the intermediate position.

5. A toothbrush as claimed in claim 1, wherein the elongate handle and pivotably mounted head lie in substantially the same plane with the axis of pivoting being substantially orthogonal to said plane.

6. A toothbrush as claimed in claim 1, wherein the head is removable from the handle.

7. A toothbrush as claimed in claim 1, wherein the head has a minor axis and a major axis and wherein the length of the bristles along the major axis is such that one or more concave profiles is defined for generally conforming to the shape of the tooth.

8. A toothbrush as claimed in claim 7, wherein the length of the bristles along the minor axis is such that a convex profile is defined.